Thursday, September 08, 2005

Quiet Goodbyes

With little fanfare, Scott Stevens and Vincent Damphousse announced their retirements from the NHL. A 13-time all-star and three-time Stanley Cup winner, Stevens leaves the game after 22 seasons and having played more games than any other NHL defenseman. A four-time all-star, Damphousse played for 18 seasons, amassing 1,205 points in 1,378 games and winning the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.One (of the many) unfortunate by-product of the lockout was that players like Stevens and Damphousse had to exit the game quietly. Ron Francis, Al MacInnis and Mark Messier may soon join that list as well. These are some of the best players to ever play the game and it's a shame that fans around the league won't have the opportunity to say goodbye to them.